Blocked IP addresses and e-mail

Just recently, we’ve been having problems with e-mail being returned to us, because an IP address (not ours) is on a blacklist. I contacted our ISP, who replied:

I’m sorry to hear you have been facing issues with your outgoing mail.

I’m assuming you are currently relaying through our outgoing server which will either be smtp..co.uk or smtp..net.

Unfortunately there is an ongoing issue with our outgoing servers at the moment being blacklisted due to Spam attacks.

We provide our outgoing smtp’s free of charge as a good will gesture for our customers to relay through. Unfortunately some customers have taken advantage of this and as a result of this innocent customers like yourself are being affected by the blacklist issue.

I’m assuming your affected emails are currently being sent by @********.co.uk? If so you do have a 2nd option which us to contact your email domain provider/host for an alternative outgoing server. I can see this as http://www.*******.com

This will be one of the best options you have at the moment. In the long term it will be a more secure and reliable server for you to relay your outgoing mail through.

Am I alone in thinking that’s a rather poor response? “Sorry our servers are blacklisted - use somebody else’s?” It’s a business broadband account.

I’ve always used our ISP’s outgoing mail servers and this is the first time I’ve had problems, either with this provider or the previous one.

Just wondering what other folk think.